Voltammetric and spectroscopic studies on methyl green and cationic lipid bound to calf thymus DNA

DNA interaction with cationic lipids promises to be a versatile and effective synthetic transfection agent. This paper presents the study on binding of a simple artifical cationic lipid, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), to calf thymus DNA (CT DNA) prior to the condensation process, taking methyl green (MG) as a probe. The results show that the CTAB binds to DNA through electrostatic interaction forming a hydrophobic complex, thus changing the micro-environment of duplex of DNA, so the binding state of MG and DNA is changed, and a complex CTAB-CT DNA-MG is formed. This fact suggests a new way to mediate the conformation of molecular assemblies of DNA and lipids. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Bilayer lipid membranes and their application in electrochemical biosensors

The preparation and characteristics of bilayer lipid membranes including conventional bilayer membrane, solid supported self-assembling bilayer lipid membrane, solid supported hybrid bilayer membrane are described in this paper, The applications of bilayer lipid membranes in electrochemical biosensors are reviewed and the future development of electrochemical biosensor based on bilayer lipid membranes is discussed.

Amperometric glucose biosensor based on lipid film

A novel glucose biosensor based on cast lipid film was developed. This model of biological membrane was used to supply a biological environment on the surface of the electrode, moreover it could greatly reduce the interference and effectively exclude hydrophilic electroactive material from reaching the detecting surface. TTF was selected as a mediator because of its high electron-transfer efficiency, and it was incorporated in the lipid film firmly. Glucose oxidase was immobilized in hydrogel covered on the lipid film. The effects of pH, operating potential were explored for the optimum analytical performance by using amperometric method. The response time of the biosensor was less than 20 s, and the linear range is up to 10 mmol l(-1) (corr. coeff. 0.9932) with the detection limit of 2 x 10(-5) mol l(-1). The biosensor also exihibited good stability and reproducibility. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.

Electrochemistry and spectroscopy study on the interaction of microperoxidase-11 with lipid membrane

The interaction of microperoxidase-11 (MP11) with cationic lipid vesicles of didodecyldimethylammonium bromide (DDAB) induces an alpha -helical conformation from random coil conformations in solution and this change then makes heme macrocycle more distorted. DDAB-induced MP11 conformations were investigated by cyclic votammetry (CV), circular dichroism (CD) and UV-vis spectrometry. All results indicate that the binding of MP11 in solution to DDAB vesicles and the ordered structure formation are driven by mostly electrostatic interaction between negatively charged residues in the undecapeptide and positively charged lipid headgroups on the membrane surface. Upon binding to DDAB, its half-peak potential was also changed. The mechanism of the interaction between MP11 and DDAB was also discussed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.